In his book “The Assault on Reason,” Al Gore said judges attending its seminars and conferences “are generally responsible for writing the most radical pro-corporate, anti-environmental, and activist decisions.”

“They are giving multi-thousand-dollar vacations to federal judges to promote their radical right-wing agenda at the expense of the public interest.”

O’Grady’s reinvented history wins awards. They include the Inter American press Association’s David Gleaner Award, the International Policy Network’s Bastiat Prize, and the Association of Private Enterprise Education’s Thomas Jefferson award.

Worst of the worst grand prize suits her best. Her reinvented history makes yellow journalism look good by comparison. She’s ideologically over-the top and then some.

On February 23, she headlined “Behind the Turmoil in Venezuela.” She lied calling Hugo Chavez a “dictator.” She was just warming up. More on her diatribe below.

Washington-manipulated violence has been ongoing for weeks. Fascist US allies are involved. So are CIA operatives and State Department funded groups.

Street violence occurs largely in middle class areas. Residents may tire of battleground tactics short of achieving objectives sought. Their staying power has limits, Ellner believes.

Venezuela is special, he adds. It’s “in the center of world attention.” It’s a Bolivarian success. It’s a model democracy. It enjoys majority citizen support. It’s likely too strong to undermine. The fullness of time will tell.

O’Grady never quits. She makes stuff up. It doesn’t rise to the level of bad fiction.

Venezuela’s opposition isn’t getting enough help from regional countries, she adds. Only right-wing governments in Colombia, Chile and Panama expressed support. According to O’Grady:

“The rest of the hemisphere doesn’t have even a passing interest in human rights when the violations come from the left.”

She claims Organization of American States (OAS) head Jose Miguel “shill(s) for Cuba.”

OAS history is long and shameful. It usually “shills” for Washington. It’s headquartered there. It often defiles the democratic institutions it’s mandated to promote.

Its former leaders included father and son Duvalier in Haiti, Guatemalan fascist Rios Montt, Chile’s Pinochet, an array of Mexican despots, Fujimori and likeminded Peruvian ones, Nicaragua’s Somoza, Cuba’s Batista, and various other regional democracy-spurning leaders.

Instead of combatting state terrorism as mandated, member countries at times practice it to some degree or largely turn a blind eye to what demands denunciation.

None have economic systems approaching Bolivarian fairness.

At the same time, US influence waned. According to James Petras:

“The weakening influence of imperial propaganda and the declining economic leverage of Washington, means that the US imperial networks built over the past half century are being eroded or at least subject to centrifugal forces.”

“The economic crises of the late 1990s led to major uprisings and electoral defeats of practically all US clients in Latin America, spelling the decline of US imperial domination.”

Imperial excess has a limited shelf life. America has been in decline for decades. Its military might alone is unchallenged. Its rogue agenda makes more enemies than friends.

She implied that state repression foiled it. Overwhelmingly popular support gets credit.

“This time the repression has been fierce,” she claimed. She wrongfully blamed Maduro for responsibly confronting street thug violence. No leader would tolerate criminal elements terrorizing ordinary people.

According to O’Grady, “Maduro needs scapegoats for the violence he unleashed.” She accused him of electoral fraud. She claimed “strong evidence (proving his) election (was) stolen.”

Stephen Lendman was born in 1934 in Boston, MA. In 1956, he received a BA from Harvard University. Two years of US Army service followed, then an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. After working seven years as a marketing research analyst, he joined the Lendman Group family business in 1967. He remained there until retiring at year end 1999. Writing on major world and national issues began in summer 2005. In early 2007, radio hosting followed. Lendman now hosts the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network three times weekly. Distinguished guests are featured. Listen live or archived. Major world and national issues are discussed. Lendman is a 2008 Project Censored winner and 2011 Mexican Journalists Club international journalism award recipient.

About Stephen

Stephen Lendman was born in 1934 in Boston, MA. In 1956, he received a BA from Harvard University. Two years of US Army service followed, then an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. After working seven years as a marketing research analyst, he joined the Lendman Group family business in 1967.